In it for the Conversation
by CowboySpike
Summary: Two comrades find themselves enjoying their shared morning ritual. Neji & Lee-not-quite-NejiLee but read it anyway!


Hi this is a work of fiction (no. it's real. I swear) and I claim ownership of NOTHNG! ahahaha! Yes. Well. Probably will not be continued unless NEJILEE gets more support! That's right.  
  
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In it for the Conversation  
  
The boys showered together.  
  
Don't get them wrong it's not because they particularly LIKED it, just that it was, for lack of a better word, convenient. They got up at the same time every day. They lived in the same building and thus used the same baths.   
  
At first, neither of them wanted to accept the idea of bathing with another who was all of a teammate, a friend, AND a rival. But day after day it happened. And eventually it became tolerable. Now the boys were just shy of actually enjoying the shared morning ritual. They were downright comfortable soaping up next to one another.  
  
Lee found the conversation particularly engaging. He found his often silent comrade wasn't called a genius for nothing. He was well-read and always had an interesting topic to discuss. Only sometimes during these discussions did Lee acknowledge that he and Neji were naked. These realizations were indeed rare and only really occurred when the discussion slightly hinted at their current state of dress.  
  
Neji, however, was a complete wreck all the time. Turns out that the stoic, talented, previous rookie wonder had body issues. At least next to Lee he did. He noticed it early on. Almost right away he noticed that Lee's physique was... superior. All of it was. His chest, his arms, his abdominals, the rest... Long after the showers Neji still blanched to think about it. EVERY aspect of Lee's anatomy DWARFED his own! It was awful, it was embarrassing, it was... rather captivating.  
  
Neji knew it was because Lee was, ultimately, more fit. Lee exercised daily and, through sweat and pain, earned that body. Still, the Hyuuga was jealous. His talent allowed him to afford only working out once in a while, so that's all he did. He was a bit scrawny, the same height as Lee but lacking a serious amount of muscle mass. Every morning he psyched himself out of staring at the boy, but always those perceptive eyes would drift down.  
  
Of course Lee knew this. He knew he had the upper hand when it came to bulk and, well... size. But he also knew better than to mention anything to Neji. Lee was so modest he could be mistaken for shy. But that wasn't exactly the case. He just had sympathy for his friend's feelings of inadequacy.   
  
Not that Lee thought he was perfect himself, far from it. In fact there were several characteristics of Neji's he coveted. Foremost being his incredible talent and fighting prowess. Lee also sometimes wished he had skin that flawless- his own was rough and covered in puckered scars and unhealed bruises. Neji also had a lithe grace about him that Lee lacked. The more he thought about it, the more of Neji's person he realized he admired. And the more it disturbed him. Until one morning he caught himself staring.  
  
And when those blank eyes locked with Lee's, Neji nearly fell over in shock. Lee merely smiled and nodded slightly as if in approval. Lee wasn't embarrassed at all! In fact he was making it quite obvious he was admiring Neji and still he didn't care! Neji felt a second heart attack coming on, because the tables had turned once again as he found himself admiring Lee. Lee knew. Neji could see him biting his cheek trying not to smile or laugh out loud. The Hyuuga tried to open his mouth to say something, Lee beat him to it.  
  
"It's okay to look, I don't mind." He turned to look at Neji again, a proud grin adorning his face, "I know I'm kinda cute with my hair wet."  
  
Neji gave him a friendly smirk of disbelief as Lee giggled a little. The truth of it was both found it hard not to admit that the other was, in a way, pretty. Of course Neji had the soft, regal features as inherited by all Hyuuga family members. The pin-straight black hair, fair skin and general grace. But what Neji found pretty about Lee couldn't just be on the outside, he thought. Lee's prettiness had to be more attributed to... charm. The Hyuuga boy could see Lee's smile from the side of his face. And also visible was the flush that couldn't be from the lukewarm shower water...  
  
Lee had considered it. Neji always stared at him; what if he DID have certain feelings towards his comrade? Well, first, he knew the quiet one would NEVER make the first move. Lee was a tad exasperated thinking of that, because he knew he would have a hard time admitting it as well.  
  
...That is, if he indeed had anything to admit.  
  
One day the long-haired boy didn't show. Lee was surprised, of course, and a little disappointed. They had recently completed a particularly stressful escort mission that Lee was hoping to discuss with Neji the next morning. But the taijutsu master bathed alone. As Lee walked half-dazedly back to his room, he nearly collided with the bearer of two pale pupils. Said bearer looked at his teammate and was visibly crestfallen.   
  
"I overslept..." came the hoarse voice of a young protege.   
  
Lee sensed a clandestine but immense amount of sadness behind the eyes he stared unwaveringly into. Could he really be that disappointed that he missed showering with Lee? The boy wished he could read minds. He could almost swear that the face across from his was pleading for... something, but it was impossible to tell for sure. Still, he felt compelled to say something...  
  
"Well I, uh, forgot to use shampoo. I think." Lee offered.  
  
Neji's face changed immediately. In fact, he nearly grinned ear-to-ear. He moved forward and past Lee, fully trusting that the other would follow. Lee turned and scratched his head, utterly confused by what that whole display had meant. Something in the back of his head told him something was about to change between the two of them- he couldn't ignore that. The part that was suggesting that Neji was happy about being able to see him naked again, well...  
  
He kind of didn't want to ignore that one. 


End file.
